A "Real" Writer

Hahaha, I'm never going to update regularly, am I? We should all just accept this (including myself) and move on.

I visited Travis recently for more than a week! This was due to the fact that I got a cold while I was in Shreveport, and wasn't going to travel unless I was feeling at least 90% better, so we didn't actually get to do much, BUT... cuddling with him all week was AWESOME. I am seriously in love with that fool. :-)

And then... I got sick again. But I went to the doctor yesterday, and the antibiotics he gave me are handy-dandy: I feel so much better already. Hopefully, my immune system will be tamed back into submission after this, instead of being a lazy slacker.

Speaking of lazy slackers... I don't have a job. Truth be told, I haven't even been looking. I don't want a job. My mother is starting to get massively pissed about this, especially since she had to pay for the expensive doctor visit.... but I seriously just want TWU and/or Chase Bank (via student loan) to give me lots of money to go to school instead. I mean, going to school full time and doing a bunch of shows, I'm not going to have time for a job. I mean, yes, it's technically possible, but working and doing Drood nearly killed me. Working, shows, and school!? No, thank you. In the meantime though... don't expect any Christmas presents from yours truly. My bank account is a wasteland.

BUT, cool news: I'm nearly finished polishing a new script for Fight Boy Theatre's Feast Of Plays II, and I'm directing as well! Yayness! It needs a title ASAP for marketing purposes, and I'm working on it. I think I've decided on one, but it kind of needs to roll around in my head for just a bit.

Also, Half Empty got Honorable Mention by associate critic Laura Watson in The Column (a regional publication of theatre reviews) for Best New Play of 2010. That's pretty nifty around these here parts, so I'm quite proud of it.

The best thing about all of this... is that I feel like a real writer now. And I have so many more plans, writing-wise. It's all very exciting.

running out of steam

As my last post indicated, I was starting to get ridiculously busy. Well, it's dwindling down now, and as of Monday, I will suddenly find myself with absolutely nothing to do. Which is good, really, for a little bit, since my bedroom is a disaster area, and I haven't had time to write or draw at all. But then the lack of paychecks will become noticeable...

My anniversary weekend with Travis was altogether much too short - I was far too busy half the time to pay him adequate attention, and when I could do so, I was far too tired for it to be entirely exciting. He was, as always, the sweetest and most patient boyfriend one could ask for, and it's not hard to see why we made it so easily through two years together, and I fully expect plenty more to come. :-D

Tomorrow is my last day at Rose Costumes, and I'm not too thrilled. I'm extremely disappointed I was not selected to stay on, and I have to wonder what I did wrong. It's my dream job (as far as entry-level goes), and I don't know how I'll find that kind of workplace satisfaction anywhere else, anytime soon. I am at least happy that they didn't hate me, and therefore didn't fire me, unlike a certain other costume shop did last Halloween season.

Sunday marks the end of Drood as well, and I'll be sad to strike that set. It's been a good cast and crew to work with, and an enjoyable enough piece to perform. I'm looking forward to the cast party tonight.

I auditioned for Proof on Tuesday, and I did not even get called back. Another disappointment. Since I felt I gave a solid enough reading, I can only imagine that the director, whom I have known since childhood, either A) has completely written me off as a talented and/or dedicated actress, a feeling I got from her all through high school, or B) never intended to cast the role with someone so young. Or perhaps it was both reasons. Either way, it's been a bit of a struggle to soothe my bitter feelings.

And so, come Monday, with no Travis, no job, and neither show to rehearse or perform, I fear I may find myself quite down in the dumps. Just writing about it has made me a little blue.

However, I did finally put in my TWU application today, so hopefully I'll get accepted, and then will have school to look forward to. I need something.

Procrastinating getting ready for work

Arg! It's been nearly a month... again...

So, while I put off getting ready for work until the last possible minute, I'll just ramble about what's going on in life.

Yes, I did indeed say "getting ready for work." I have possibly the coolest job in the universe, even if it is temporary. For this Halloween season, I'm working at Rose Costumes here in town. I'm convinced it's the most magical costume shop in the world, with the heavily decorated themed rooms and dressing rooms, over 5,000 costumes, and you follow the trail of chickens on the ceiling that eventually turn into rats to get to the Sherlock Holmes bathroom. And I mean, when "The Secret Room" and "The Secret Secret Room" are part of your workplace vocabulary, you know you have fun on the job. The only downside is that I'm working full time at a costume shop during its busiest season while working on Drood at the same time, which is getting closer and closer to opening night. Exhaustion is quickly becoming my middle name.

But, I'm really liking the fact that having a job means getting paid.

So, let's start a countdown to the 29th, which is the opening night of Drood, the Friday of Rose Costume's busiest weekend, and last but certainly not least, the day Travis is going to come visit me!!! I miss him like fire, and it's been over two months now since I last saw him.

Today is thirteen days until the 29th. Just under two weeks!!!

To-Do List

+ Clean my room.

+ Get a job.

+ Visit my grandmother.

+ Go to Rose Costumes to try on my costume for Drood.

+ Schedule a session with the diction coach for Drood.

+ Take my box o' books to Recycled Books to sell.

+ Work on drawing Two Weeks Past Forever, the comic Travis is writing.

+ Work on characters and outline for my still-untitled novel.

+ Work on blog idea with Deni.

+ Write a freakin' poem every now and then.

+ Write a short story.

+ Go to Drood rehearsal most week days.

+ Maintain some sort of social life.

+ Read my library books before they're due.

YES, I can be an actress, artist, and writer all at the same time.

Read my poetry!!!

Okay, sorry for the shameless self-promotion, BUT...

I've got a site where you can view my poetry. Which you totally should. And bookmark it, while you're at it.

http://hellopoetry.com/poet/melanie-welch/

I don't have a lot up yet, but I think if I have a place where people actually expect me to post my poems, I might actually write more. I also am feeling encouraged to go hunting through all the random scraps of paper and notebooks I own to amass together all of my previously existing poetry (the ones that don't completely suck, anyway) into one place.

Wow, I'm actually starting to feel like a real poet now.

YAY POETRY!!!

Drood and stuff

Well, even after a terrible, terrible audition I managed to score a chorus role in DCT's production of "Drood." I'm sure I'll have lots of fun, and I'll rinse the rust off of my chops while dancing off a few pounds.

I *think* I'm going to get the job at Integrated Alliance. I hope so...

...Because any money I can get will be a wonderful thing.

And I miss Travis with everything I've got.

In the meantime, I've got to keep writing and drawing. I'm really terrible about just sitting on the computer all day long doing absolutely nothing. I managed a small poem today, but that's so not enough. I need to freakin' WRITE. (Or draw.)

Also, I am of the opinion that Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman are THE COOLEST couple in the universe. Just sayin'.

Whoa. Busy week much?

Of course, I move back to Denton, and it's like "HOLYSHITLOTSASTUFFTODO."

I'm still not even remotely done setting up my room. My poor mother is DYING for me to clean out the closet, but I'm afraid to touch it without first donning a complete and functional Hazmat suit.

I have so not applied for enough jobs.

Suddenly, I have found myself applying for Texas Woman's University here in town at the last minute.

Annnnd, I have only seen a handful of the wonderful people I love and have missed.

I've seen two movies in the theater in the past week, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Vampires Suck. Absolutely adored Scott Pilgrim! Vampires Suck was okay, I did laugh a little, and it was ultimately redeemed by the fact that I'M IN IT (for a split second, but hey, still cool). This is amazing for me, since I don't think before this week I'd even seen two movies in the theater in the past year.

I've also been watching the news, since Dad always leaves it on during the day. I could totally rant about a few issues... but I don't want to make this post ridiculously huge like the last one.

I'm going to see Denton Community Theatre's production of The Producers this evening. Should be lots of fun, it's gotten plenty of rave reviews. I'm still trying give away my extra ticket, but it appears that I'm nowhere near as popular as I thought.... *facepalm*

Oh yeah, it's also my 20th birthday on Sunday. I still haven't made plans. It'll probably just involve a lot of shuffling around the house in my PJs, refusing to do anything productive because it's my birthday. Then evening will roll around, and I'll try to find someone to hang out with, only to find that they're all busy. Am I getting all mopey about it? Not really. I'm just in this really weirdly blunt, deadpan mood.

Mmkay, well, off to the theatre.

Long time no see

It has been an incredibly long time since I last posted... and I'd like to NOT do that again. So... here's what's up, I suppose.

I moved back to Denton as of yesterday. This was a difficult decision to make, because it meant leaving Travis in Shreveport for the time being. Have we broken up? Far from it. We're as in love as ever, which is fantastic; however, that's exactly why this has been hard. Otherwise, it was kind of a no-brainer.

See, the film thing wasn't quite panning out. While Infamous was an incredibly fun project, and I got to be an extra in two movies, Butter (slated to come out in 2012) and Vampires Suck (comes out on Tuesday!!!), film work seemed to dry up a bit after that, and I just don't think I have enough fire in me to "go after it." So, I had to get a day job at Target. Not a bad job, but I wasn't scheduled for enough hours to hardly feed Travis and I both, much less make enough to save for our own place. Living with John was starting to get way too stressful - he's got a lot of financial problems on his plate, and Travis and I were not able to pull our own weight. On top of that, I missed Denton, its inhabitants, and the community projects going on like crazy.

So here I am, back to living with my parents. Which isn't too bad, since my parents are the coolest parents in the universe. The plan is to get a job and put back the majority of each paycheck until I have enough saved up for Travis and I to get our own place. Whether said place will be in Denton or Shreveport has yet to be decided, but we have a little while to figure that out. I'd rather not move back to Shreveport, but we shall see.

I kind of want to go back to school. Maybe next fall.

Living in Shreveport, while miserable, was a very important learning experience for me. I realize that my priorities are not suited for the life I was attempting to live. I always thought that creating, learning, doing, etc. were a priority for me.... and they ARE; however, things like financial stability, family, friends, and staying connected to my roots are much more important to me than any career ever will be. I hope someday to strike the right balance of these things in my life.

Right now, I have lots of plans, big and small, for what I want to do. Besides the getting a job and saving money to reunite with Travis bit, I want to do the next FBT show. I want to write a novel. I want to, while I'm here, make my bedroom a badass place to hang out in. I want to spend a lot of time with all of my friends.

Life, for me, isn't about how I make my money. It's about the time I spend with who I care about, whether they care about me just as much or not. And yes, it's about creating - but who's to say that a community theatre show isn't as important as a major motion picture? You're still creating, and you still have an audience to reach out and touch. Life is meaningless if I spend time being miserable just in hope that something good will come of it some day. Life is meant to be lived today. The Mayans might have had it wrong - the apocalypse could very well be tomorrow.

I hope not, though - it's only a week till my 20th birthday!

Extra, extra, read all about it.

Another droning update of my life. Yay!

Worked as an extra for LA Art Film last week. Due to the confidentiality agreement, I am not allowed to say pretty much anything about the film itself. I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to say that I worked on it at all, but I figure that I can talk about my experience as an extra, because I figure that's an experience that could pertain to any big-budget film.

It was pretty much like being in high school - the majority of the extras were college-aged, but not quite the type to be in college, or to have even graduated high school. One extra I spoke to said that I was the only person he'd talked to/hung out with that had a high school diploma. Granted, there were at least 200 extras, but like I said, a good portion of them were like this. They were loud, disrespectful, lazy, and often downright rude. Very immature. The work itself was miserable; on my feet for most of the twelve hours I worked two of the days, and seventeen (yes, count 'em, seventeen) hours I worked the first day. But that's okay - the overtime pay ROCKED.

And, above all, it was way cool to be on a real set, to watch how real movies were made. It was neat to stand next to some big names (again, I can't say who, and I don't even want to hint about it), and I had a lot of fun when the camera was actually rolling. :-)

Infamous just keeps getting leaps and bounds better with every episode, but I'm to find a better marketing strategy, because our numbers are starting to drop. Which is so not cool, now that the series is not just good, but practically AWESOME.

And as for my personal time, I'm delving deeper into Paganism, trying to manage life without any money to speak of, and attempting to get my butt in gear over my writing.

Soooo.... life is cool, I guess. Travis is a sweetheart. John is a total saint. And that's the long and the short of it.

Best weekend of my life.

Last weekend in Denton was everything I had hoped it would be and more. I got to hang out with nearly everyone important in my life, and Half Empty was bloody brilliant. Caleb, Hannah, and Dara gave me something I will cherish for the rest of my life, and for that I will forever be grateful to them. I keep saying this, but I'll say it again: Saturday was the best night of my life, and it really showed me who my true friends are. Those that took part in bringing my words - words of a most personal nature to me - to life, were at the top of the list, but even those that showed up and watched it, and those that attended the wonderful party afterwards, definitely proved themselves to be caring and wonderful friends that I will always keep close to my heart. Deni and I flat out bawled our eyes out at the end of the show. The party was full of fun merriment, and it seemed like everyone actually cared about what I was saying whenever I opened my mouth. I am overwhelmed at how many people seem to care about me - ME, of all people! - and I hold nothing back in returning the warmth and love! Thank you EVERYONE - you made me feel like I actually have a place in this world, and words cannot express the gratitude I have for all of it. You are all so important to me, and I love each and every last one of you.

A big thank you goes to my parents for financing my wonderful weekend. They drove all the way to Shreveport, picked Travis and I up, and turned right around to drive back to Denton. They were kind enough to host the mega awesome cast party. Mom bought me TONS of food, for both the weekend and groceries for when I returned... plus restocked all of my hygiene products, bought me a couple of cute shirts and a belt, and then the BIGGIE - a whole new laptop(!), since my old one crapped out on me last week. Then Dad was a champ for making the round trip all over again when Travis and I had to go back. Holy crap, I have the coolest parents ever!

Well, now that I'm back in Shreveport, it's back to Infamous. I'm really excited about Episode 7 airing on Monday, with my first scene, and this weekend we're shooting Episodes 8 & 9... and I quickly become an important character! Shooting, though, is going to be stressful to the max, because we have a lot of ground to cover. So, I'm going to log off, go over my lines, and chill out to prepare for the hectic weekend ahead. :-)

Peace and love, everyone.

Denton town, the life of a budding playwright, and such

This weekend I'm headed to Denton to see my show, Half Empty, as part of Fight Boy Theatre's Feast of Plays. I am wicked excited. My mom (a total goddess) has graciously helped plan a weekend to remember for me. Aside from just being in my beloved hometown and seeing all of the people that I know and love so much, this will probably be a cathartic journey in the sense that Half Empty was written about an emotional bond in my life that means a great deal to me. Seeing good friends of mine work so hard to bring my words to life onstage means even more than I can begin to describe. I love my Denton friends more than I can possibly say, and if things don't end up well here in Shreveport, you can bet I'm turning around and coming home. (...again. At least this time, unlike when I was at GCC, I have found a group of people that I fit well with, and accept me. This makes a move back home much less likely.)

I am especially looking forward to spending time with Deni; it is no great secret that Half Empty was based partly on our everlasting friendship, and I wholly expect to have a fabulous time in her company. I also cannot wait to spend some time with my parents, whom I cannot thank nearly enough for all that they have done and are continuing to do for me. They are a couple of such amazing, thoughtful, selfless, and caring individuals that I am SO proud and grateful to call Mom and Dad. Additionally, I expect to enjoy seeing my grandmother, whose health has confined her to a nursing home since her stroke in November, and the Gallagher clan, who, despite the fact that my relationship with one Joey Gallagher ended a year and a half ago, have all continued to remain close friends that I can assuredly call a second family.

So it seems safe to say that this will most likely be one of the best weekends of my life. Things here in Shreveport have gotten kind of rocky lately (financially, that is), and the stress of that has taken a small toll on my psyche. I am ecstatic to know that I will be taking a mini-vacation to a land chock full of love, warmth, and all that fuzzy feel-good Lifetime TV stuff. :-P

In other, less fuzzy wuzzy bullshit news, Infamous has been going well, though we still don't have financial backing in any form. :-( Viewership seems to be climbing, though, and I am excited to say that I have a character on the show that will be introduced in Episode 7. My first scene (with the talented Mr. James Palmer) was filmed this past Sunday. I won't give any more details than that, but definitely stay tuned.

One last thing - Script Frenzy started today! I have my script in mind, but I need to work out details in a treatment before I start writing the actual script. The title I'm toying with in my head is Under the Cyprus Tree. Wish me luck; I've never finished a feature-length script in my life, much less in thirty days, so I'll need all the good vibes I can get!

Peace out. See you in Denton. :-)

Are all people this complicated?

In my last post, I talked about "finding myself." Well, while the "secret blog" hasn't really helped so much with that, I've still been thinking about myself, trying to find my footing in this world. My conclusion thus far is that I have so many facets to my personality, and I don't know how on earth to merge them into a singular personality that is the me I should be all the time. Does that even make sense? It's just that I have so many interests and moods that they're hard to keep track of and satisfied all the time. Often, when one emerges, the others tend to disappear for a time. Here are a few parts of me that seem to be at least a little consistent:

+ The Actress.

This is probably the strongest of 'em all, as it is a rare moment when I don't want to be in front of a camera or audience. Most people seem to know this one about me, so I don't feel much of a need to go in depth.

+ The Artist.

Not very consistent at all, yet somehow everyone seems to know this one about me as well. I am only in the mood to draw on certain occasions; however, the IDEA of drawing is always appealing to me. It's good to know I have talent here, however small or large. This part of me is not very hard to merge with the rest, usually.

+ The Writer.

This one isn't quite consistent either, but with the premiere of "Half Empty" this weekend, I think people are starting to realize that this one exists in me as well. However, many famous writers, including J. Michael Straczynski, noted as the creator of Babylon 5 among a zillion other amazing scripts, has said that one is either born a writer, or is not. This is something that, living with a definite born writer, I have been questioning in myself a lot lately. Throughout my life, I have written a good many poems, and have started on a number of stories and scripts, but am I a true writer? Sometimes I burn to write, and sometimes... well, I don't. The most successful and truest writers are those who write all the time, which I definitely don't. So I have to wonder, am I really a writer?

+ The Pagan.

This one is really embarrassing for me. Really embarrassing. Why? I think it's because of some stupid things I did as a child, not fully understanding Paganism/Wicca as a religion, and it led to a lot of teasing and stupid questions. Plus, I know the majority of people out there think it's a lot of horse shit. Well, I don't blame them, but mainly because I don't think they know fully what it is. It's really not a lot of different from most any other religion, just with different details, a lot of theatricality (hmm, wonder why I love it so much...), and more of an emphasis on the mystical. It still teaches you the Golden Rule of "Do unto others" and whatnot. The media has gotten the whole thing all wrong, so I have a hard time "coming out of the broom closet" when I am aware of all of the preconceived notions about this form of spirituality. Also, I know a lot of people who aren't spiritual at all, and think ALL religion is horse shit. Well, who wants to be thought of as some batshit crazy kook? Not me, that's for sure. So... while I like this part of myself, I have an especially hard time integrating it into the rest of my life.

+ The Goth.

This one has kind of died since mid-high school, but sometimes I still want to revive it. I can't help but love gobs of black eyeliner, Hot Topic, and all things Tim Burton. I think my biggest beef with trying to go back to these roots is that a) it takes a lot of effort to do it right, and b) I don't want to fuck it up and look like I'm trying too hard. So, I don't try at all. And now it's kind of dead. :-(

+ The Fashionista.

This is the exact opposite of the above persona, but takes just as much effort. In my horrible tendency toward indecision, I usually just do nothing, and result in making no fashion statement at all with my comfy jeans and t-shirts. Plus, jeans and t-shirts are just that - comfy.

+ The Nerd.

Sometimes I nerd out and want to play video games and RPGs, and watch a lot of Buffy, Doctor Who, or something related. This isn't so embarrassing, especially since I hang out with similar folk, but it's not always there. I often feel like this part of me, when it surfaces, negates all of those above "artsy" personas, because when I get in this mood, I don't feel creative at all. Which is weird, because Travis is totally opposite: he wants to write this stuff. I don't, I like to write about real life taking place in this world, so I feel all self-contradictory when I'm in this mode. I also feel all weird about it when I get into the fantasy element of it, because things like Buffy, Charmed, and Harry Potter perpetuate the misconceptions that my Pagan personality is so against, yet I can't help but enjoy them.

And there are so many more of these little moods and personality facets that don't surface nearly as often, but are still there inside nonetheless. So, I have to say, what the hell? Does everyone struggle to deal with these self-contradicting aspects of themselves? Well, at least I know that the majority of these aspects of my personality are very "fringe"; I'm definitely not a mainstream girl. But my interests and moods span such a wide variety anyway that it's hard to find a niche where I'm always happy.

Okay, my brain's starting to hurt, so I think it's time to put the introspection on hold and go... well, I dunno which of these moods I'm in now, but go do SOMETHING else. :-)

Secret Spot (Kinda)

I've started a new blog in on an undisclosed website. Why, you may ask, when I already have this one?

I would like a space that I can just say whatever I want without fear of judgment from my friends, however irrational this fear may be - logically I know I should just be myself and not CARE what people think, but I do anyway. This blog is linked to my Facebook, where 99% of my friends (and a couple of family members) can read it. It is my public face, something we all have, whether we want to admit it or not.

The reason for my private blog is so that I can test the waters and experiment with certain thoughts and feelings with total strangers (if anyone at all - I doubt very few, if any, will look into my blog among the thousands, millions of others online) until I feel confident enough in said thoughts and feelings to merge them with my public self. In other words, I am going to go "find myself." By myself. You're not invited (yet). Sorry.

It's just that I'm just sick of being so effing insecure, and I'm going to do something about it. It's high time that I start understanding, accepting, and even loving, who I am. So, while I will continue to post here from time to time to update you wonderful people with what's up in my life, I'm going to reserve my more insecure moments (which are most of my moments, at this point) for my "secret spot."

Peace and love,

Melanie

Sick / All the time

New poem. Not my best, but I like it nevertheless.

Sick / All the time

Sick of the emptiness,

Of the millions of burnt out stars

That we don’t even know

Lost their light

Hundreds or thousands of years ago.

Sick of the darkness

That we don’t even know

Envelopes us,

Even now.

Sick of the dead gazes

From eyes that have lost so much

That we don’t even know,

As we peer into the mirror,

Are our own.

So tuck me into bed tonight,

And let me sleep forever,

Because I don’t wanna live in a world

Where everything doesn’t sparkle

All the time.

And love never stops

Filling you to the brim

Till your face hurts

From smiling

All the time.

And life is just

One enormous embrace

That never feels like

You’re suffocating;

Just warmth

All the time.

MW 2010

Don't fix it if ain't broke

The ordeal I just went through with my computer is one of those major face to palm moments.

To give a little background, my computer hadn't been wanting to connect to the internet here at the house, and I haven't been able to get anywhere with WiFi, to test if it was a hardware problem with the ethernet cable, or a software problem.

A few days a go, our friend Bill took my laptop apart looking to see if he could find a hardware problem. After about an hour of looking, he couldn't figure it out, so he put it back together and we left it alone for awhile.

Tonight, our friend Harvard came over, and spent at least two hours, if not more, looking for a problem with both the hardware and the software. He attempted a system restore... and accidentally deleted every single thing I had ever downloaded or uploaded to this computer. No, I wasn't mad (after all, he was just trying to help me), but I have to say, it was frustrating. Travis and I lost a couple of good scripts we were working on.

About twenty or thirty minutes ago, I walked over to it to see if there was any other possible solution. I looked at the ethernet jack. Without thinking much about it, I blew in it to clear the dust, and plugged the cable back in.

And wouldn't you know, it worked.

Moral of the story: Don't fix it if it ain't broke. Or, keep your electronics clean.

Starving Artists

Well, I asked Travis if I could jump on the computer to blog, and now that I have, I don't really know what to say. Especially since not a lot of people, if any, actually read this.

I do have to say Infamous is rockin' and rollin' - we have the pilot episode up, and it has been well received. On top of that, Travis and I got accepted into the company of Sculpted Entertainment, and that will be quite fun, plus a source of income, once we get started with it (sometime next month I think).

Also, I finally wrote a little something that could turn into a big something, and it's looking pretty good. I just need to figure out what happens.

In the meantime, though, it seems money is tight and we've got to watch ourselves on creature comforts... Travis, John, and I can all be a little extravagant sometimes. :-/ Oh so Boho, no? :-P

I guess I've nothing to complain about; I'm living my dream. And besides the dark depressions I can slip into at a moment's notice (which is no different from any other time in my life), I'm quite happy. Really. And this is good.

Mardi Gras and other things

I went to my first Mardi Gras parade ever today. Apparently, it was the "family friendly" version of Mardi Gras - all you had to do to get beads was wave, not flash your tits. So, of course, I got lots of 'em. And there was zero alcohol. Oh well, next year, perhaps? (Not that I want to flash the world, I just want to party like there's no tomorrow with OTHER people that are partying like there's no tomorrow. ^.^) We bought a King Cake, though, which is a Mardi Gras tradition I'd never heard of till today. Effing DELICIOUS, though. Seriously. We need to introduce this to Texas.

As for it being Valentine's Day, not much happened there. Travis and I are both broke, and we cuddle and be cute every day anyway, so...

Infamous, however, is rolling. We are to premiere this week. Exciting!

And we're headed back to Denton on Wednesday to promote Infamous at Thin Line Film Festival. This is very cool, but we'll only be there till Thursday, so I'm quite sad that I won't get to spend any time with family and friends. Strictly business. If only Travis and I didn't have that audition on Friday... *sigh* I do miss everyone.

Oh well, just keep truckin'. :-)

WHO 'DAT?

GEAUX SAINTS!

Yep, I moved to the right state. :-P

Living just a little bit

Well, I'm sorry for having neglected the blog so long. I've either been too busy, too tired, or too damn sick of sitting in front of the computer to blog. But now I'm here, never fear. :-)

Living here at John's has been a pretty sweet deal, to be sure. I've got everything I need and more. John is a total saint. Speaking of Saints, I should be watching the Super Bowl right now, buuuut... I'm not. Go Saints, though!

Travis and I have been working pretty hard on Infamous. I've been assigned the job of heading up Marketing and Promotions, which is fairly scary, since I have never done marketing before and I have absolutely no clue as to how to go about it. The boys have been saying I'm doing a good job, though, so I've got that going for me. :-) Also, Travis is going to make his first appearance in Episode 4, and - hopefully - I get to make my first appearance in Episode 5. However, this information is not set in stone just yet, so we'll see. One thing IS for sure though - we will both be in it. Yay!

In the meantime, working crew on set has been satisfying enough. I ran the slate last shooting day, and will probably continue to do so. It's quite exciting just to work on my first film gig and work with such talented people. Also, I may be a back-up makeup artist, as our primary makeup artist, Liz, is also a major character in the series.

My emotions have been swinging every which-a-way, though, which is another reason I've held off on blogging. Sometimes I get all freaked about being here and I don't want to blog when I'm in such a state, because honestly, it's not bad here at all. I can just get into such a foul mood. However, I expected this - I've never been a big fan of change, so I knew I would go through some growing pains after about a week out here. Really though, it's super awesome!

I do miss my home, but not so terribly. I feel fairly well-accepted here (a problem I had when I moved to Denison - I felt like such an outcast there), and in my element for the most part. And Travis and John are wonderful people to have around.

In other news, I am, for the millionth time, getting obsessed with Paganism, the occult, the paranormal, Voodoo (I AM living in Louisiana, after all), and all things mystical. This is a fact about myself that I tend to get really embarrassed about, since I don't like to come across as some whacked-out kook, but hell, it's interesting stuff. You don't have to believe in it (and a lot of times, I find stuff that I call out as bullshit myself), but it's cool to read up on.

Okay, 'assit for now. Later kids.

Made It

Before I say anything else, let it be known that I have the sweetest boyfriend in all of the universe. He just brought me pizza and a margarita. :-)

Travis and I loaded our stuff into the U-Haul yesterday, and man, we have a ton of shit. A ton. We packed an entire 17-foot truck to the max. I blame it mostly on Travis - but then, he was the one with the couch and the bed. And more movies than I can count. And a bunch of records. And I don't even know what all. We were afraid my stuff wouldn't fit after we loaded his, because it took up most of the space.

Well, after we did our loading, we said our goodbyes, and then headed out. Driving through Dallas, I nearly had a heart attack, because at one point, we had an 18-wheeler on one side of us, a concrete wall on the other, and an 18-wheeler in front of us. Despite my sleep deprivation, I was wide awake with terror until we made it out onto I-20. Then finally, I fell asleep for a little bit.

When I awoke, Travis and I began to talk, and we had an absolutely wonderful long conversation that reminded me why I feel just fine with the idea of being 175 miles away from home with just him and my own self to rely on.

Then... we were here. We pulled up in front of John's house and honked the horn. He came out and hugged us, and suddenly, somehow, we live here now. It's crazy.

I slept for most of today, but Travis dived headlong into this new web series that he and John and Greg and Harvard are working on called Infamous. Supposedly, I should be working on it later, and in the meantime, John has given me the task of promoting it around the internet, which I am doing so even now. (As in - go check it out on Facebook. Website up soon!)

We unloaded most of our stuff this evening, and it's a lot of stuff to maneuver. I guess we'll figure it out.

But man, we're here. We're living the dream!

The Day of the Move

I have been awake all night long packing my stuff, as I am the master procrastinator. I am so exhausted I can barely move. If I can just get through loading the U-Haul, I can doze on the way there. I am officially too tired to care about sentimentality right now.

On a side note, I have now looked into the depths of hell itself. It's in my closet.

Well, I have to go finish this moving thing. Next time I post, I should be in Shreveport. :-)

Random people are the best.

So, like I mentioned in my last entry, I went and checked out this new 24 hour coffee shop. I walked in and managed to strike up a conversation with the barista, and eventually a friend of his who was doing homework there wandered over and joined in. This was a little after 4 - I finally left at 7.

Ack, my cat is trying to lick my hands while I type.

Anyway, I guess I'm just excited (and a little sad about the bad timing) that I'm meeting all of these random cool people, drinking coffee, and having wonderful conversation. Mix that in with working on my art and getting to see all of my close friends before I go... well, I'm just so happy that I'm having a fantastic last week here in town before I'm off on an exciting new adventure.

Everything is just going rather well. I hope there's no "other shoe" involved here; in fact, I kind of feel like this IS the other shoe, after a rough patch of depression.

The only downside is that now my sleep schedule is totally out of whack and I don't even want to go to sleep because I have so much stuff I want and/or need to do.

Oh well. Can't have everything, I guess. :-)

Laundry marathon.

I don't think I've ever done this much laundry in one week.

Five days till the big move. Well, since it's in the wee hours of tomorrow already, I guess you could say four.

Last night I went to the Square to drink up the scenery (and some good Jupiter House coffee) before I left. I met up with two very interesting individuals and had a great conversation for a large portion of the night. I also made a few last-minute purchases at Recycled Books: Letters to a Young Artist and Ghosts & Vampires in New Orleans, plus a Recycled Books hoodie that I have wanted for years so that I may remember the best used bookstore in the world whilst I am gone. (And how many of them are painted purple and reside in an old opera house?)

Then, I headed over to Bryan and Kevin's apartment with Travis. Kevin was asleep, but Jared, Jeremy, and a guy named John whom I have met on a couple of occasions were there. We had nice time just hanging out.

Apparently, tomorrow we're having a going away party at our friend Evan's house. That should be fun, and kind of sad I guess, too.

Well, I may head over to Big Mike's Coffee Shop, a relatively new coffee shop in Denton that is supposedly open 24 hours. As it is now four in the morning, I don't seem to have much else to do, and now is a good time to investigate this supposed 24 hours thing.

Guess that's it for the time being. <3

Lightbulb

So, I got a new idea for a script today, which made me ridiculously euphoric, because I haven't gotten such a good, solid idea like that since I got the idea for my screenplay Half Empty. I think I need to let it incubate for awhile, but I'll start work on it VERY soon. YAY!

Travis and I are moving on Monday the 25th. Kind of super duper crazy. I'll miss Denton a lot; it's my home, and after having seen other places, I know that it's really and truly a unique, amazing town with one of the best arts communities for a place its size, especially in flippin' Texas. But hey, onward and upward, right?

I watched Juno yesterday for the third time. I LOVE THAT MOVIE.

I also really love coffee. Probably more than I love Juno.

Songs that make me happy inside.

I am FINALLY looking up all of those songs I've heard on the radio/at karaoke/on someone else's iPod/etc. and LOVED but did not know, much less own... and I'm downloading them and making badass playlists. (As if no one else on the planet does this... sorry, but I rarely if ever make time to pursue music, so this is a triumph. Sad, I know.) Special kudos to dirpy.com, which converts YouTube videos into mp3s.

Here's what I'm feeling tonight:


"Attitude" Playlist (so far):
1. "Tik Tok" - Ke$ha
2. "Just Dance" - Lady GaGa
3. "Mitternacht" - E Nomine
4. "Bad Romance" - Lady GaGa
5. "Supermassive Black Hole" - Muse
6. "Engel" - Rammstein
7. "The Fame" - Lady GaGa
8. "Stigmata Martyr" - Bauhaus
9. "Beautiful Dirty Rich" - Lady GaGa
10. "The Perfect Crime No. 2" - The Decemberists
11. "Poker Face" - Lady GaGa
12. "Somebody" - Blue October
13. "Diamond Dogs" - Beck
14. "Before I'm Dead" - kidneythieves
15. "Local God" - Everclear
16. "Misery Business" - Paramore
17. "Paper Planes" - M.I.A.
18. "Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)" - Rob Zombie
19. "Criminal" - Fiona Apple
20. "Voodoo Child" - Rogue Traders

"Sex" Playlist (so far):
1. "Horny" - Mousse T.
2. "Fuck the Pain Away" - Peaches
3. "Closer" - Nine Inch Nails
4. "You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want (When You're Makin' Love)" - from Avenue Q
5. "Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo" - The Bloodhound Gang
6. "Lovegame" - Lady GaGa
7. "Animals" - Nickelback
8. "Milkshake" - Kelis
9. "The Bad Touch" - The Bloodhound Gang
10. "Crazy Rap" - Afroman
11. "What's Your Fantasy" - Ludacris
12. "Boys Boys Boys" - Lady GaGa
13. "Love You Fuck You Sleep" - Derek Glenn


Epic win? I think so. :-D